Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 14 - Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

An End and a Beginning

THE OLD MAN CAME from the future. That was what he said. Honestly, I didn’t understand what he meant. True, he did kind of look like me.

“The future…so you’re me from the future?”

“That’s right. I am you, about 50 years from now.”

He sure didn’t beat around the bush, but it was all so sudden. I didn’t know if I should believe him or not. On the other hand, he did know my name. I had never mentioned it to anyone and I never would. Maybe there was a way to use magic to read a person’s mind. 

Having said that, I did reincarnate into this world with all my memories intact. It wasn’t that far-fetched to think time travel might exist too. I had no way of distinguishing whether he was telling the truth or not.

“Sorry, but I don’t have time to explain the ins and outs of time travel magic to you,” he said.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said. I know it sounds like a phrase straight out of a Hollywood film, but I really don’t have much time. You need to listen.”

He made that Hollywood reference without missing a beat. That meant he had to have some connection to my previous life. Maybe he really was me from the future.

There was a glint in his eyes and a darkness lurking within. Frankly, he looked like someone who killed people daily. There was such a coldness to his gaze, as if he cared very little about other people’s lives. Was this the person I was destined to become in the future? It couldn’t be. It was too hard to believe. Yet the expression on his face was earnest.

Okay, let’s just assume that he is me 50 years from now and at least listen to what he has to say.

“There is nothing in the basement,” he blurted. “At least, I went down there and thought there was nothing. I felt at ease in the following days because the Man God said there was nothing to worry about if I didn’t find anything.” The old man’s face contorted in disgust. “But I was wrong, and I can tell you why now.”

He tapped a finger—his left index finger—against his forehead, as if recalling the incident.

Wait, what? Is that a regular hand?

“Listen up. I think there’s probably a rat down in the basement. A sick one. It probably has purple teeth, almost like a magic stone. I have no idea where it came from or when it got down there. Most likely, it sneaked into my luggage while I was in Perugius’s floating fortress. It doesn’t really matter where it came from, though.”

The old man opened his hand and smacked his fist against it. “You’ll startle the rat when you go down there, and it’ll run to the kitchen. There, it’ll rummage through the leftover food you’ve got sitting out. Aisha will find it dead there the next day and dispose of it.”

I remained silent and simply listened.

“Aisha will get rid of the leftovers by feeding them to a stray cat.”

His left hand isn’t a prosthetic. Is this guy really me after all? Or did he find some way to restore his lost arm in the intervening 50 years?

“However, before then, Roxy will get peckish and come downstairs to grab a little bite of those leftovers. As a result, she’ll contract the illness the rat carried.”

“What? Roxy will get sick?” The mention of her name brought my focus back to the conversation.

“Petrification Syndrome.”

I felt like I had heard that name before. That’s right. It’s supposed to be an illness that one can only cure with God-tier detoxification magic. It was an incurable disease that would slowly turn the infected into magic stone. But where exactly did I hear of it?

“We didn’t realize at first. After all, it’s exceedingly rare for someone to be infected with Petrification Syndrome. The pathogens can only take refuge within a life budding inside another person.”

“Wait, do you mean…”

“Yes, an unborn child. The disease only affects pregnant women. I was shocked when I discovered that later.”

“What? B-but Roxy isn’t…”

“She is pregnant,” he said. “But that’s not surprising. The two of you have had sex, it’s only natural.”

Wait, Roxy is pregnant? 

Wow. It was extremely joyous news, and yet, it was being delivered in the grimmest way possible.

“For some reason, some rats are resistant to the disease and act as carriers of Petrification Syndrome. You’ll recognize them at a glance. Their teeth have turned into purple crystals. They transfer pathogens to anything they bite into. It can only be orally transmitted, and the pathogens don’t survive for very long after leaving their host. It takes half a day at most before they die out. Plus, it’s not very contagious since only pregnant women are affected.”

“…”

“The pathogens take up residence inside the fetus and transform it, thereby turning the mother’s body into stone.”

And Roxy was going to come down with this disease?

“If you carelessly go down to the basement and drive that rodent out, Aisha will complain to you the following day that she found strange rat remains in the house. Two weeks later, you’ll hear about a cat who was infected by Petrification Syndrome. Roxy will come down with a fever shortly after.”

I hesitated before finally asking, “And what will happen to her?”

“She will die.”

His reply was so blunt and to the point that it left me speechless.

“Roxy will slowly lose her mobility, until she’s confined to a bed. Her feet will begin to turn to stone, and it’s then you’ll realize she has Petrification Syndrome.”

“And she never got better during your time? Didn’t you try to cure her?”

Sadness washed over his face as his eyes dropped to the floor. “I was so desperate to help her, I even went to the Holy Country of Millis. I learned the incantation necessary to cure her, but so much happened along the way and it took me too much time. When I finally got back, it was too late. Her body was already halfway gone, and she was dead.”

“No, that can’t be…”

He immediately lifted his head, that fierce glint back in his eyes as he stared me down. “The incident will be linked to something that happens 30 years from now. It’s all because of what the Man God says. Don’t be misled by him. You have memories of your previous life, so you should understand. He is the root of all evil in this world. The final boss.”

“But why is he after Roxy?”

“I still don’t know the answer to that. However, I do know that he is moving with some objective in mind. The last thing he said to me was this: ‘Thanks to you being such an idiot, everything went exactly as I planned.’” He clenched his teeth. “Dammit.”

The Man God actually said that? Still, hmm…

“As for what his goal is, maybe Orsted or Laplace might know. I didn’t get a chance to meet them these 50 years. There’s a high chance you won’t be able to either, even if you look.”

“Even Nanahoshi didn’t have a clue where to find him?”

At the mention of her name, his face sank. Maybe she really didn’t know.

“I never asked her, but maybe you could give it a try. Even if she doesn’t know exactly where he is, she is intelligent enough to think of all kinds of contingencies, so she may be able to come up with something.”

“What ended up happening to Nanahoshi?”

His lips thinned, and he didn’t answer. The sad look on his face said all I needed to know already, but after a pause, he finally replied, “At the very, very end, she failed. I messed up trying to comfort her, and then…”

So she never managed to make it home? Then she must have fallen into despair and taken her own life.

“Okay. I don’t need to hear any more.”

“Yeah. I don’t want to talk about it either.” He lifted his chin, trying to regain his composure. “There is something else, and it’s important. You’ll learn about this 10 years from now, but the Man God isn’t actually called that here.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s a god of the humans—in other words, the God of Men. Everyone who’s heard of him knows him that way—as ‘the God of Men.’ Only those who have actually met know his name, the ‘Man God.’ Why he’s chosen to refer to himself that way is beyond me. I assume it’s his way of messing with people.”

That made sense. So that was why some people (Orsted) had such an exaggerated reaction to the name. The only people who knew it were those who had met him and been deceived by him.

“On the surface, he only seemed to say things that benefited me.” The old man clenched his hand again. Hatred burned like a raging fire in his eyes. Intense bloodlust radiated off, and yet for some reason, I didn’t find it terrifying. “He hasn’t told you a lie yet, up until this point. Not as far as I—or you, rather—can tell.”

His fist began to shake. Something sparked inside of it, crackling like electricity.

“But it was all for one purpose: to make someone as guarded as you let your defenses down so that you would obey him without question.”

Although I stared in mute amazement at the sparks shooting from his hand, I also steeled myself in case he tried anything.

“Don’t be fooled! You’ve read manga, haven’t you? You know that the people who talk about trust the most are the ones who always tell lies.”

“Yeah, I know that, but…”

He spat back, “No, you know nothing. After you lose Roxy, you’ll lose Sylphie next. You’ll be so broken in the wake of Roxy’s death that you won’t even think about her for a while. Hurt by this, she’ll fall into depression. The Man God will take that opportunity to manipulate Luke.”

“Luke? Seriously?”

“Yes. Afterward, you’ll hear about it from the girl who was dating him at the time. She’ll say, ‘He suddenly woke up one morning in a panic, claiming to have heard the word of God.’”

“And…what happens after that?”

“Luke counsels Ariel to make haste to Asura. Sylphie abandons you to go with them. After having failed to garner Perugius’s support, Ariel is at a disadvantage. She hedges her slim chance at victory on starting a civil war. But she is defeated, and Sylphie dies in battle.”

Sylphie…dies?

“You’re going to lose them both.” The man shook his head, grinding his teeth together. “I can still hear the Man God’s voice when he revealed all of his trickery to me. That high-pitched laughter…the way his hand felt as he clapped me on the shoulder and told me, ‘Nice work.’ Dammit… Fuck!” 

He slammed his fists on my desk. Electricity sparked around him, flashing bright as the midday sun. The light vanished in an instant, but the burn marks on my desk remained. Having finally regained his composure, the old man let out a steady breath.

“I’ll say it again: Do not trust him. You will regret it.” After he finished speaking, the old man clutched at his stomach. His complexion was worsening as I watched. “I don’t have much time left. But I guess even having said all this, you probably don’t know what to do now.” His face was deathly pale. Dark circles were appearing beneath his eyes.

The old man sucked in a breath, struggling to exhale. He almost looked like he was on death’s door. Was he sick with something?

“First, let’s see…yes, Eris.”

Hearing that made me frown.

“I want you to write her a letter as soon as you can. Tell her you may have cheated on her a little, but you still love her.”

“No, I don’t,” I quipped. “She’s the whole reason I had ED before.”

“Forgive her for that. You’re a man, right? You should be able to do that much.”

I scowled.

He let out a self-mocking laugh. “Well, I couldn’t forgive her. The two of us didn’t get along so great for a couple of years.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“She nearly killed me countless times. She would follow me wherever I went, and each time she found me, she would go on an all-out attack. Well, still, she did pull her punches. She was perfectly capable of killing if she truly desired it. But she never targeted me when I was at my weakest. In fact, when I was in trouble, she would lend her help from the shadows. Almost like Vegeta from the Dragon Ball series.”

Vegeta, seriously…

“Anyway, she’s not like the prince of the vegetable kingdom. She just wants to be with you. She’s always loved you. Because of those feelings, she’s always poured maximum effort into everything she does. However, she is also terrible with words and doesn’t know how to express herself, so all she can do is talk with her fists.”

That’s all well and good, but I already have two wives and a kid. Sure, I may have loved Eris at one point, but that’s…all in the past now. It’s a past I still need to settle maybe, but it’s over now.

“I already have Sylphie and Roxy.”

“No problem. Sylphie is pretty open-minded. As for Roxy, she doesn’t even think she’s worthy of you, so she’ll forgive you for it. Eris will be fine too, if you explain things beforehand. Besides, you really do still love her, don’t you? Oh, but I should warn you: Expect a punch from Eris. That’s just the type of woman she is.”

“I get what you’re saying, but…”

“You get to surround yourself with three women who love you. Sounds wonderful. What’s wrong with that? Don’t tell me you’re not man enough.”

“Don’t talk about it so flippantly, as if it has nothing to do with you.”

“I have no one left,” he said. “I’m telling you this because you are me.” 

His words carried a strange weight to them, but…

“I still have a responsibility to look after Roxy and Sylphie.”

“If you wanna talk about responsibility, you owe Eris some, too. She’s been doing her utmost for you this entire time. She’s just crap at expressing herself so you haven’t realized it, but she’s never stopped trying for your sake. If you think you owe responsibility to other people, then what about her and all the effort she’s put in? Ghislaine will hit you with those words…as you stand in front of Eris’s corpse.”

Eris’s…corpse?

“So Eris dies too…?”

“Yeah. Protecting me. Think it was…when I was challenging Atofe again. That demon king was more fearsome than I expected. I let my guard down.” He spoke as if they were distant memories, his lips curving into a frown.

Just how strong am I in the future if I can afford to let my guard down against someone like Atofe? Is this guy really me? It’s starting to feel even more suspicious.

“You have to send that letter. Understand? If you don’t want the same regrets, do it. It might not be too late if you start now.”

“Uh, okay. I guess if you feel that strongly, I can send it. But where to?”

“The Sword Sanctum. You’ve probably realized that’s where she is by now.”

The Sword Sanctum wasn’t all that far from Sharia. He was right: I did have a feeling she might be training there.

“All right.”

“Don’t write anything that might push her away,” he warned. “If she falls into despair, it’ll be the death of you.”

“I know.”

I knew exactly what kind of person Eris was. Or at least, I used to know. If what he was saying was true, then she never intended to abandon me. I simply didn’t realize that this entire time. Now that I considered what he was saying, she was pretty awful with words. It wasn’t surprising that her feelings didn’t get through in that letter she left me. And that was the reason the two of us had this misunderstanding and I lost my way.

“…Phew.” The old man choked out a breath, then flinched with a realization and lifted his chin. “Also, I forgot to say one important thing: don’t treat the Man God as your enemy.”

“What? But you said he’s been deceiving me.”

“Yes, but he’s not someone you can defeat. I certainly wasn’t able to. I could never reach him.” His voice was thick with anguish.

By saying he couldn’t reach him, does he mean physically? So that space where the Man God resides—it really is somewhere here in this world?

“When I realized that, my entire body quaked. I knew I would never be able to get vengeance for Roxy or Sylphie. I poured everything I had into beating him, but I couldn’t even get to him. I can manipulate electricity and gravity, but the Man God would never come anywhere close enough for me to use my magic against him.”

The man pointed to the pot of ink on my table. It lifted into the air for a moment before falling back to my desk with a clatter, scattering a few stray ink droplets.

“I can make things levitate. I can send messages to people from a distance. I can even regrow an arm. More than that, I managed to leap through time and return to the past.” He paused. “Although this magic was actually a failure.”

A failure? What part of this was a failure? He was here right now, right in front of me, wasn’t he?

“I am sure you have begun to realize it, but the magic in this world is all-powerful. Once you understand that, you can accomplish just about anything. Though it will take time, research, and practice to accomplish.” 

As he spoke, he lifted his left hand. The way he flexed it made it seem like he was bragging, but his face had gone past the point of deathly pale and was now completely white. The circles beneath his eyes were darkening, and his lips were turning blue.

“But none of this power has any meaning. It was all too late. By the time I got strong enough, the people I wanted to protect were all gone.”

There was still a glint in his eyes, but the power had already fled them. His breathing was erratic and raspy.

“Do you understand what I’ve said? I’ll tell you one more time: I hate the Man God, but I also can’t triumph against him. There is no way to beat him. I could not find a way to reach him by myself. The things I required to get to him didn’t exist while I was alive. So don’t try to fight him. I have no idea what he’s after, but even if you have to act like his toady, do it. Don’t oppose him. Let him do as he likes. Then, while all the people you love are still alive…”

All the strength fled his hand and it fell limp. He lifted his chin, his gaze wandering to the ceiling.

“There are three things you have to do: consult Nanahoshi, write Eris a letter, and doubt the Man God without opposing him. That’s all.”

I didn’t respond to him. It was all so sudden that I didn’t have anything to say. One thing was clear: he was desperate to try to tell me something.

“C-can’t you give me any more concrete advice than that?” I asked.

“Advice, huh? Ah, this brings back memories. That’s right. I used to be a slacker when I was your age… Well, you know, I would love to give you more details and tell you as much as I can…but my time is up.”

“You keep saying that. That you’re out of time, that your time is up. What’s with that? Are you in a hurry to catch a midnight anime special or something?”

“No. I mean it’s over. And while we’re on the topic, don’t rely on others. If you remember when you first came to this world, you didn’t rely on anyone.” He gazed at me with the same emotion in his eyes as if he were looking at his grandchild.

Now that he mentions it, I have been leaning on other people a lot recently.

“Also, with me coming here, your future should have already changed. The things I say now might not come to pass anymore. But me traveling back to the past like this won’t change the history I lived through…”

In the next instant, the focus faded from his eyes. Both of his arms hung limp and he threw his chin up, painfully gasping for air.

“Guh… You will…lead a life that’s…different from mine… You’ll succeed…and fail…just like you always have. You’ll reflect…on your mistakes…and regret them too…”

The old man stirred, and the movement caused him to fall out of the chair.

“Hey, are you okay?!” I rushed to his side and pulled him into my arms, only to shudder in horror. As muscular and tough as he looked on the outside, he was unbelievably light. He probably didn’t even weigh 40 kilograms.

What the heck? What’s wrong with his body?

“Don’t for a second…believe that me coming from the future…means you can rectify your mistakes the same way. This magic was a mistake… There’s no such thing…as being able to redo your life.”

His lifeless eyes swam from side to side as he slipped a trembling hand inside his robe. “I used this diary as a guide…for what date to return to…and I brought it with me. I’ve written…all my experiences in it. Please…do what you can…to make sure you don’t regret… Don’t let that bastard laugh at you…like he did to me…”

Tears welled up in those hardened eyes as he fished a thick file from his ratty robe. The thing was pretty worn from years of use, but it looked familiar. It was the same folder I’d made for myself just moments before.

As I took it from him, the man’s hand slipped and struck the floor. That wasn’t what caught my attention, however. When he pulled out his diary, I caught a glimpse at the inside of his robe. Where there should have been a stomach, there was nothing.

“What is that? What’s wrong with your body?”

“Heh, my magic was…incomplete. I wasn’t able to bring my entire body…when I traveled back in time.”

“What? B-but you just said you could even regrow your arm.”

“I don’t have any mana left. Sorry… If only Cliff were still alive, then maybe this would have gone smoother… Just a little bit longer… I have some more info…”

“Sorry. You’ve already done enough. You don’t have to say any more.”

“I don’t want you…to have regrets…or for things to go the way the Man God wanted… Why, at a time like this… When there’s so much I still need to say… But I came all the way back here, if I could at least have a glimpse of…”

The man’s eyes were no longer looking at me—or anything else, for that matter. What he was saying made no sense. It was just a stream of vague babble now. A black shadow spread beneath his eyes, as if the shadow of death was hanging over him.

So this is what a person looks like before they die… No, as they’re dying.

“Ah.”

For an instant, his eyes regained focus. They were looking at something over my shoulder. The old man lifted a trembling hand past me.

“Aah, Sylphie, Roxy… Dammit, you’re both as adorable as ever…”

A single tear spilled down his cheek as the light disappeared from his eyes completely. All the strength left his body, and his neck fell limp.

He was dead.

I glanced over my shoulder, but the door was still shut tight. The man had made quite a ruckus, so I wondered if someone had woken up and rushed down to see what all the fuss was. The old man must have just been hallucinating as he took his final breaths.

No sooner had I thought that than thundering footsteps came down the stairs.

“!”

I hurriedly exited the room, just in time to see Roxy and Sylphie coming to investigate, each with a candle and weapon in hand.

“Rudy, I heard voices and some noise. Is someone here?”

“Is it a thief, perhaps?”

The two of them looked relieved the moment they saw me, but they still had their guards up.

Should I tell them about the old man? I hesitated. No, I shouldn’t.

“No, sorry,” I said finally. “It was just me being half-asleep. I had a weird dream and used some magic. That’s what caused all the noise, I think. My bad.”

“It was just magic you used in your sleep?” Sylphie asked in disbelief. “But I thought I heard someone shouting. Are you okay? Um, if you’re having a hard time, should we sleep in the same room? You know, my grandmother did say that when one is in pain, feeling the warmth of another human is the best remedy.”

“No, I’m good. Pretty sure I’d try something dirty if I slept with you. And you’re not quite back to full health yet, are you?”

As I refused Sylphie’s tempting offer, Roxy pulled a face. “If it’s really that bad, you can sleep with me. Although, I have begun to suspect I might be… At any rate, if you could keep it to just some touching…”

“Nah, I’m really okay today.”

Although Roxy hadn’t finished what she was saying, her words triggered memories of what the old man mentioned. He said she was pregnant. Judging by the way she spoke, she thought as much, too.

“It’s really, truly all right,” I assured them. “You two go back to bed. I’ll get to sleep after I tidy up my office.”

Sylphie nodded slowly. “Well, if you’re sure, okay. But if you need one of us, feel free to say, okay?”

“We are husband and wife after all, so please don’t hesitate. Anyway, good night.”

The two of them still looked deeply concerned as they headed back up to the second floor. I watched them leave before turning back to my study.

First, I needed to confirm the veracity of what the old man told me. I still had no idea who he really was—whether he was actually me from the future or someone else entirely. Considering he risked his own life to get here and warn me, what he said seemed believable. The bigger problem was it was so sudden that it was hard to digest.

“…”

There was one thought that wouldn’t leave my head, though.

I don’t want to lose those two.

And I didn’t want to die with regrets like that old man did, either.

I followed the two girls to their rooms to make sure they were safe, and I expressly forbade them from coming out again tonight. I went to every room on the second floor and locked them from the outside to keep everyone from leaving. After that, I descended the stairs and swept the first floor to make sure no one was around. Once I was sure the coast was clear, I went back to my study to strip the old man.

“…Wha!”

He didn’t have a stomach. Beneath his rib cage was an open hole where all you could see was bone and skin. He had almost no intestines. That spot aside, the rest of his body was pretty incredible. It was hard to believe these were the muscles of someone in their late sixties. He was covered in battle scars. There was a particularly unique one on his chest, as if his skin had been welded back together there. Even his freckles were in the exact same places as mine.

As far as I could see, he was exactly like me. The only thing that set us apart was that he had a fully functioning left hand. He did mention he’d regrown it himself.

He must have been pretty skilled at healing magic to manage that.

Other than the diary, he wasn’t really carrying anything else. He didn’t have any accessories or even a staff. All he wore under his robe was a shirt, underwear, and pants. There was nothing in any of his pockets, either.

Pretty sure if Sylphie and Roxy died, I’d be carrying around some kind of keepsake.

On the other hand, if 50 years had passed, perhaps he’d been through a lot and lost those mementos.

After setting his articles aside, I wrapped the old man’s body in the blanket that had been lying nearby. I carried him out through the kitchen, heading for the back door. 

I paused as I spotted some leftovers from last night on the counter. They were left piled on a plate. These were the ones he claimed that rats would nibble at. It was probably best to get rid of them.

I slipped through our rear garden and carried the old man’s body to a nearby vacant lot. There, I dug a grave, set him inside, and set fire to it. My magic was powerful enough to turn him to ash and bones within seconds. The stench of burned flesh hung thick in the air. It was all the more nauseating knowing it was coming from my charred corpse.

“Urgh…”

The thought made my stomach lurch. I raced to the edge of the lot and vomited.

Once I finished cremating him, I used my magic to conjure a pot and put his bones inside. I would bury him in the same spot where I put Paul. If he really was my future self, that was the spot where he’d be happiest.

I refilled the hole after I finished collecting his bones. Next, I returned to the house, slipping through the back door before heading straight to my study. I left the old man’s remains beside his clothes and grabbed my staff. 

My destination this time was the basement. I’d already activated my demon eye.

The old man had told me not to go. He warned that the rat would run out, nibble at our leftovers, and that the disease it carried would then be transferred to Roxy. But I had to be sure. I had to know if that rat was really here or not. If I didn’t see for myself, I wouldn’t be able to believe what he said. Plus, if he was right, I couldn’t leave that rodent unchecked.

“…”

The stairs leading to the basement were dark. I pulled out a Lamplight Spirit scroll to illuminate the area. After descending, I took a deep breath and placed my hand on the door.

“…Hm?”

Dust had collected in a corner of the stairwell. I spotted what I was looking for—tracks. Rat footprints, to be precise. I could also see where its tail had dragged behind it. These footprints only went one way: into the basement. There were no tracks to show it had left.

I couldn’t bring myself to open the door. Instead, I used magic to make a hole in the door about the size of my fist. Then, I poured mana into my staff and pushed it through the opening. I pictured ice in my mind, enough to fill the entire room. Inside were magic items and Aisha’s fertilizer that she used in the garden, but all those things were inconsequential.

“Frost Nova,” I whispered. In an instant, ice rippled through the room. Just to be on the safe side, I repeated the spell. “Frost…Nova.”

A chill spread from my staff, enveloping every nook and cranny of the basement. I sent my Lamplight Spirit through the hole and looked in to make sure the entire room was iced over. Finally, I opened the frozen door, stepped inside, and immediately closed it behind me.

“…”

I found the rat instantly. It was dead, frozen solid as it stood near the hidden door that led to my personal shrine. The creature’s mouth was half open, purple teeth peeking out. They really did look like magic stones.

I did a thorough sweep of the area to make sure a second one hadn’t sneaked in. Once I was certain it was safe, I created a box with earth magic, used two sticks to safely pick up the rat’s corpse, and placed it inside. Then I sealed it so no one would inadvertently open it.

Would it be best to burn this thing and be rid of it? Or maybe I should send it to the Magicians’ Guild for study?

The latter seemed the best option. If I reported what I’d heard from the old man about Petrification Syndrome when I handed the rat’s body over to the guild, they could check the veracity of his claims. Although I had no idea whether they could extract the pathogen from a frozen corpse.

I locked the basement door behind me and sealed the hole I’d made. The old man said the disease didn’t have airborne transmission and wasn’t very contagious, but it was better safe than sorry.

I returned to my study. I was fully awake after all of that, so I wouldn’t be getting shuteye any time soon.

So what should I do first? Or rather, what is it that I can do right now?

Should I read this weathered diary the old man had brought with him? Maybe it could warn me about future events. Although, he also said that history had already changed. In sci-fi terms, I was already in an alternate timeline—one created by my future self traveling back in time. Even if I read everything contained within this journal and prepared for it, it was likely that many of the things he’d faced wouldn’t come to pass.

My eyes fixed upon my ink bottle and the black stain it had left on my desk. Burn marks also remained from where the old man had concentrated mana into his fists and slammed them down. Seeing it triggered the memory of what he’d told me: “There are three things you have to do.” There was one thing in his list I could do right now.

I sat down, took out a piece of paper, and grabbed my pen.

“…”

First, I wrote Eris a letter. She was my first partner in bed and someone I had once loved before she disappeared out of nowhere. I still had complex feelings about her.

What should I even write? I wondered as I set my pen to the paper.